Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Travel Studies: Europe on a Shoestring

Book by Arthur Frommer

Remember this book? I bought a used copy for my semester abroad in 1969. I thought I was so smart, until I noticed it had been published in 1957! Over the years the title has changed . . . $10-a-day . . . $40 . . . $75 . . . now I think they're calling it Europe on a Shoestring. (The jump in prices isn't as noticeable that way.) The numbers are higher this year, but it's still possible to go to Europe on a budget. Here are just a few tips for saving money:

Travel off-season. Airfares and hotels are much lower in March and April, and after September 15th. Springtime weather is more fickle, while it's often warm until November. We've been to Europe in the winter, too, and loved it, except the days are very short. Always check several days around the time you want to fly when looking for airfares. Last September I saved $200 by going on Friday rather than Monday! (Our Paris hotel was $90 cheaper the 2nd night because the rates went down that weekend.)

Choose small towns over big cities. Of course you'll want to stay in London, Paris, Venice or Rome, but spend fewer nights in those expensive places and experience cheaper villages that often have more personality. For instance, Delft is a small picturesque city an hour's train ride from Amsterdam. It's very walkable, with many family run hotels and B & B's. Rooms can be double the size and half the price that you'd find in Amsterdam. A few more of these gems: Bruges is an hour outside of Brussels; Colmar is three hours from Paris; Brienz is thirty minutes from Interlaken, Oberammergau is two hours from Munich. But it's silly to stay in a town just because it's cheap; you can discover magic places if you . . .

Invest in guide books. Don't get these at the library because you want the most up-to-date information available. The Rough Guides, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, and Let's Go are my favorites. Read up on the places you want to go. Check opening and closing times and days. It would be a shame if the day you planned on going to the Vatican was the day it's closed! Look at travel magazines, and research places online. I love to visit tripadvisor.com, travelgator.com, and I find ideas for hotels at hotels.com.

Get good maps. Know how far it is from Madrid to Rome. Once you're there, have a list of the sights that are free. I always get a good city map and mark the inexpensive places I want to visit with a bright colored marker. For instance, in Paris I might circle the passages (19th century arcades with galleries and shops,) the I'le de St Louis (a tiny neighborhood on an island in the middle of the river,) and the bookstalls on the Seine. Tours are expensive; wandering is free. The view from the top floor of the Galleries Lafayette department store is free, so is the vista from the steps of the Montmartre. Looking up at the Eiffel Tower is as spectacular as looking down from it, and it saves you about $80!

Eat your big meal at lunchtime. Breakfast is often included in the room charge. If it isn't, go to a bakery. (Pack a plastic jar of peanut butter and a plastic knife for an instant sandwich anytime.) When there's a fancy restaurant you want to try, go there for lunch, when it's cheaper. Buy sausage, yogurt, cheese, pastries, and fruit at the outdoor market, or at a corner grocer for dinner. Shopping for food at a market is a cultural experience, too.

Expecting the unexpected is especially important when traveling to Europe on a shoestring. We've taken twenty-six trips to Europe and we collect hotel experiences like souvenirs: showers too small to turn around in; no hooks, hangers, doorknobs or towel racks anywhere in the room; rock solid pillows shaped like hot-dogs; beds so high we needed stools; lights that turned off automatically, set on an illogical timer; maids that popped in without knocking and changed the towels no matter what we were doing . . . But isn't that why we travel?

In my Special Collections (on my sidebar) I've assembled experiences in Austria, Germany, Poland, France, etc. under Europe. Try some of our favorite bargains and splurges. We always spend more than $5 a day, but it's worth every cent.

~ Someone found your blog and emailed you saying they're visiting the city where you grew up. Write an itinerary for a one-day tour of your hometown. Prompt: "When you're there, you can't miss____. There's a great view from____. My favorite place for lunch is_____, and the kids would love____."

~Write a postcard to your grandma from someplace in Europe you want to visit someday.

(Just a note to a couple of readers: Please don't take my School Days Seminar posts and present them as your own ideas. I'm flattered that you like them, but I'm putting in a lot of time! I'd appreciate it if you linked back to my blog. Thanks!)

*If you do any part of this assignment on your blog, link it back to TravelinOma. And please leave a comment here with a link to your blog as part of our class discussion. I'll be keeping track, and spot checking your work, giving points for participation. You can grade your own work, based on your individual progress. (A for Accomplishment, B for Basic Effort, C for Class Comments, D for thinking this post is Dumb, and F for Failure to Communicate.)

These posts make me feel so much more optimistic about the possibility for travel. I don't feel like it is something that we'll never be able to afford, or that we have to wait until we're retired to do!

you are the go to travel guru. you have a knack of describing things you're passionate about!! i love that about you!!

it takes courage to go out on a shoestring. to be brave, adventurous and open to new experiences. i learned more from our 3 week euro experience than i did the rest of the year in school. thank you for teaching us that is with the adventuring spirit you squeeze the most out of life.

I am such a home buddy. My husband, Mike has helped me to appreciate the adventures one can have while traveling. Hopefully I would like to have an adventure in Europe some day and now I know where to get the tips. For now, my dream is to take our baby boy (who is now 23) back to Homer, Alaska to see where he was born.

For a long time I have wanted to work on a story about my first trip to Europe. You have prompted me to take a stab at it. I have started a piece on my blogabout "expect the unexpected" when you travel.

All Rights ReservedUnless otherwise designated, all text and photographs are the copyright material of TravelinOma and its author. You may use ideas generated here, or link to material on this blog provided you include proper attribution. Thank you.

Email Me: Click on the image

Introducing Our Seven Heroes

Fellow Travelers

"There ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them."

Family Favorites

Write Away

"I try to leave out the parts that people skip."

On Record Keeping

"You will have significant experiences. I hope that you will write them down and keep a record of them, that you will read them from time to time and refresh your memory of those meaningful and significant things. Some of them may be funny. Some may be significant only to you. Some of them may be sacred and quietly beautiful. Some may build one upon another until they represent a lifetime of special experience."
Gordon B. Hinckley, 2006